A pretty fair review, i do agree the animation could be much better really, and this must be considered when reviewing an anime. I do however think that in general reviews should not be posted unless the reviewer has seen at least the entire arc, as one can easily miss important nuances because of that. This is also an episode that is very much a culmination for this arc, in the sense that Goku and Vegeta have been getting beaten around by these guys for most of the arc. So not having watched the arc i feel makes the review a bit less credible imo, since that impact is lost on someone who has not watched it. That being said you brought up some good points, and i look forward to more reviews now that DBS is officially licensed.

This has been an interesting arc, in part because for a portion of it, it takes on a sort of mystery investigation tone. It's got a lot to do with the information density up to now.

I have been enjoying Super's dedication to not doing away with gags no matter what (I loved Bulma making Trunks super glue together the urn they plan to seal a god in). The nature of this story has allowed them to have it both ways especially though, with all the hopping between the currently fine present and the depressing dark future. So while it's darker, it's...not, really? I wonder how that'll hold in later arcs.

I also have to say: Masako Nozawa's rendition of Goku Black is really good. He's creepy and ominous.

Vegeta has a really great speech as to why Black will never be able to keep up with the real Goku in terms of strength: “That body, down to the very corner of its cells, was made by Kakarot's long, fierce history of combat! Only a true numbskull like him can use the Saiyan cells within it to their fullest!”

That line would have had a lot more weight if Goku and Vegeta didn't completely get their asses handed to them twice. More like 'only a true numbskull would sip tea while I go train in a room where I can get half a year's training while the time machine refuels.'

Liking this current arc but super confused about some parts almost as if Clamp wrote some to the point I don't think Tsubasa: RC was that complicated. So there is no beginning in this arc. First we see Trunks having faced the two enemies: Black Goku and Zamasu Goku facing Black Goku briefly. After Berus or his assistant Whis note they already felt this ki from Zamasu. Goku briefly fights a normal Zamasu who seems like a sore loser. Zamasu becomes interested in learning the Super Saiyans God powers and plans to kill every single mortal almost as if it was Goku's fault. Is this some sort of time paradox or loop?

Also, what's with Trunks' incredibly big power ups? It feels that by some sort of plot boat or anger that he surpassed the two Super Saiyan Blues due to how he became able to take the two Zamasus

The show's plot holes are just as staggering as they're an integral part of the franchise. The show had Future Trunks try to explain why his timeline (A.K.A. the original timeline, mind you) wasn't affected by events happening in the "present" timeline (A.K.A. the altered timeline), and then about 3 episodes later the Main Antagonists themselves provide a reasoning that shouldn't be possible under the circumstances as the time...

Also, what's with Trunks' incredibly big power ups? It feels that by some sort of plot boat or anger that he surpassed the two Super Saiyan Blues due to how he became able to take the two Zamasus

Yeah, I don't really get that. Seems like too much of an ass pull. I saw someone on another forum try to argue that Saiyans getting a power up when angry isn't new at all, but not really like this. There was no indication that Future Trunks had that kind of dormant power. Super Saiyan was foreshadowed. Gohan's potential was talked about ever since he beat Raditz. SS3 or even Kaoiken were things Goku already knew. I mean this wasn't just some small anger boost. Trunks went from completely irrelevant to doing better than SSB Goku and Vegeta which is basically a fusion level power boost or larger.

Yes, Beerus unwittingly introduces Goku to "present" Zamasu, thus creating a sequence of events that causes Zamasu to follow his already slippery slope logic on his perception of mortals being "unworthy of existing".

Not a fan of a reviewer reviewing an episode of a show without having seen all the previous episodes, even of the arc itself. Dragon Ball Super is a big deal right now and has been at least since this arc began. It's shocking they didn't choose someone who was already actually following the anime to review the series starting with this episode, but I'm guessing no one on the staff was :l

Not a fan of a reviewer reviewing an episode of a show without having seen all the previous episodes, even of the arc itself. Dragon Ball Super is a big deal right now and has been at least since this arc began. It's shocking they didn't choose someone who was already actually following the anime to review the series starting with this episode, but I'm guessing no one on the staff was :l

I'll be all caught up on the arc by next week! I just like to stick to the legal streams, so I avoided Super until now.

Also, I'm a big believer in shows like this being designed to draw you in from the middle. That's how I fell in love with DBZ as a kid in the first place.

Just to throw it out there, Ajay's Super Animation Catalogue over at Kanzenshuu is required reading for anyone who wants to understand the background of Dragon Ball Super's production.

I look forward to reading your reviews, Sam, and wish you luck making it through the show's highs and lows. Long ago (or at least, it feels that way to me) I made my own attempt at reviewing Dragon Ball Super on a weekly schedule, but only made it to episode six.

Also, I'm a big believer in shows like this being designed to draw you in from the middle. That's how I fell in love with DBZ as a kid in the first place.

I agree. If we were talking about a story driven 1 or 2 cour series, not having seen the first 3/4 of the story arc would be a big deal. However, Dragonball and other 'never ending' shounen stuff is intended to grab new viewers as it goes along. People will get bored with it, kids will out grow it, etc. These decade long series can't sustain that without new fans coming in.

I think if you've seen the movies, the rest will fall into place. Really even just BoG. They even reexplained the big secret of Goku Black being Zamasu that stole Goku's body. Yeah, there is a bunch of convoluted time stuff which I thought was interesting, but you certainly don't need all those specifics to follow the rest of the arc.

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